“It’s nice to have someone to talk to about all this.”
“You have Lily, too,” he says, taking a sip of coffee.
“Lily wouldn’t get it. You’ve been in my position before.”
He grins. “Still am, in a way. So does this mean we’re going to make this a weekly date?” he asks.
I cough at the word date, and he narrows his eyes.
Stop.
I internally berate myself. We’ve called outings dates before. Here I am once more, being an idiot.
“You okay?”
“Fine,” I say, clearing my throat. “I think that’s a good idea. I like this place.”
“I’ll pay next time. Although seeing as though you’ve already gotten a raise, perhaps you should pay every time.”
“I’m still a mere analyst. You, sir, are the executive. You’re still rungs above me.”
He grins. “You got promoted on your first day. Just imagine where you’re going to be in a year’s time.”
“It wasn’t really a promotion. I’m still an analyst.” I roll my eyes.
“Can’t you just play along?”
“Fine... I’ll own the place,” I say and give an exaggerated evil laugh, steepling my fingers.
He chuckles. “You know what? I actually wouldn’t put that past you. Then lunches will forever be on you.”
A group of men, all wearing suits and wheeling suitcases behind them, walk through the door, and my breath catches in my throat.
Charles leads the pack, talking over his shoulders to one of the men I recognize from the meeting. One of the clueless executives.
He commands the room, garnering stares from everyone around us.
It’s not just me affected by his mere presence. Go figure.
“What are you looking at?” Asher asks, twisting around to get a look for himself.
“Stop,” I whisper-shout. “Don’t let him see you staring,” I hiss.
Asher turns back to me, eyes wide and a grin smeared across his too-pretty face. “Who exactly am I hiding from?”
I lean across the table. “It’s Charles Cavendish.”
His brows lift into his hairline. “That’s the elusive Cavendish?” He looks over his shoulder, and I slap the table to get his attention.
“Asher,” I bite out. “Stop. He’ll see us.”
He rolls his eyes. “The man’s preoccupied, Raven. I can’t believe he’s so young. Not what I expected.”
If that isn’t the understatement of the century.
“You and me both,” I murmur.
His lip curls. “Do you have a crush on your boss?”